A Secret Worth Telling (A Clace Fanfic)
by haleybrehm
Summary: As seen on Wattpad, Clary thinks her new high school will be torture, but when she meets Jace, will everything change? Will her past catch up to her and ruin their future together? The Mortal Instruments.
1. Chapter 1

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce8e18a16961606fa482c3c7d7039d87"C.P.O.V./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c5634378ee8140eb8b93ac2c604cd4be"I woke up with my bright red hair in her face. I yawned loudly and got out of bed, already dreading the day. Today was the start of my Senior year at my new school, Alicante High. I felt nervous when I went to pick out my outfit. I knew for sure I would be sitting in the bathroom eating my lunch, just as Cady had done from em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Mean Girls/em. But I couldn't let them get close to me. I couldn't let them find out what had happened before I was Clary Fray, and not Clarissa Morgenstern. Images flashed through my mind of my abusive father, and I dropped my hairbrush in alarm. I wanted to forget that part of my life as much as possible. I shook the images out of my head, and put on a smile that could fool the whole school, and most importantly, my mother. I headed downstairs in my first day of school outfit: a graphic tee, ripped jeans, and converse sneakers splattered with appeared to be a mixture of paint and colored marker. I greeted my mother with a "Good morning". She smiled back, and handed me bacon and pancakes, my favorite breakfast. We had our usual morning conversations; when she would get back from work, when Luke would come over, and what we would be having for dinner. Luke was my mom's boyfriend. They have been dating ever since we moved here in June. I was happy my mom had moved on from my father. I cursed myself silently for bringing him up again. After eating my delicious breakfast, I noticed the time. "MOM!" I yelled in alarm. "What?" She responded with a startled expression. "I'm going to be late for school!" "It's alright, I'll drive you"! We ran out to her old SUV, and sped off to school. I got dropped off and sprinted inside. "Hopefully I wouldn't be late" I thought. I don't want to stand out anymore than I have to. I received my schedule from the guidance office, and headed to my first class, AP Chem. Awesome. This was definitely the hardest class I had signed up for, and I had it first. I entered the classroom to find a blonde boy making out with a pretty brunette. Many people were staring, some even taking videos, but I ignored them and sat down at an empty seat. My teacher walked in, and the two broke apart. "Finally" I thought. The teacher glared at them, but then introduced himself. "Hi, Im , It's nice to meet you all and I hope we can have a great year together". His eyes swept over the class and then rested on me. I averted my gaze, but still felt his eyes on me. Why was he looking at me like that? "I will be assigning seats,so don't get too comfortable" he continued. The class groaned. He gave students their seats, and finally he called out my name. "Clary Fray and... Jace Wayland". I sat down next to the boy who was making out with the brunette earlier. His golden eyes met my green ones, and he held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Jace Wayland, your handsome, amazing, partner for the year". I rolled my eyes. This was already off to a great start./p 


	2. Chapter 2

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="121c83f85be4dc3f0efd65a7ee7fffde"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"J.P.O.V./span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3e837b3cf5c7639c0f5c9d35a1f50f99"I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I groaned as I turned over and shut it off. So much for a "good morning". It was my first day of my senior year, and I could not be more excited. I was one of the most popular kids at our school. With my hot girlfriend Aline, and being one of the star players on the football team, nothing could stop me this year. I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast where Alec and Isabelle were. Alec was a freshman in college, and Isabelle was in my grade. This sucked because whenever she saw me do anything "bad", she could just go to my adoptive mother Maryse and my adoptive father Robert. Yes, I was adopted. The Lightwoods took me in when I was 10. My parents had been killed right in front of me in a car crash, and I guess they decided to take pity on me. Nonetheless, I was grateful. I didn't think about my dad a lot, well, because, it brought up bad memories. I was Jace Wayland, and I wasn't sad, I was the happy, popular teenager. I sat down at the table where Isabelle was serving breakfast. As tired as I was, sirens went off in my head. Isabelle's cooking was toxic and couldn't be touched with a ten foot pole. I got up quickly, startling Alec and Izzy. "What's wrong Jace?" Izzy asked with a concerned look on her face. "I just remembered that I have to go to school early..for uh football" desperately trying to make up an excuse to get breakfast somewhere else than this kitchen. Alec smirked and Izzy just said"See you later". I hurried out and put the keys in my BMW. I went to Dunkin Donuts, and then drove to school. As soon as I got there Aline greeted me with a kiss, and we walked into school. Aline has been my girlfriend for 3 weeks-almost four now. We compared our schedules and saw that we had our first class together, AP Chem. I walked into the class room and sat down next to Aline. I quickly kissed her, but it turned into something more. My friends were yelling "Go, Go, Go" over and over, and some pulled out video cameras to record the most popular couple making out. We broke apart as the teacher walked in, but Aline whispered "can't wait for later". I smirked, and didn't pay attention until the teacher called my name for our assigned seats. I plopped down next to a girl with bright red hair and emerald eyes, and for a moment I lost my focus. She was so beautiful. I realized I had been staring and stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Jace Lightwood, your handsome, amazing, partner for the year" She rolled her eyes, but I was used to this. Girls just couldn't get over how attractive I am. I could tell this year was going to be fun already./p 


	3. Chapter 3

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"C.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="999374fe1b53e0d037228a19904b6b27"The rest of the class went by so slowly. Jace kept on going about how stunning he was, while I took notes. His girlfriend, or whoever she was, kept on glaring at me. I wasn't even talking back to him. But, I guess that didn't matter to her. At the end of class, Mr. Starkweather announced that we would be doing a project outside of school with our partners. "Great" I muttered. Jace, on the other hand, looked thrilled. "Well I guess we'll be seeing more of each other, Red". "Red?" I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "What kind of nickname is that"? "Well" he replied "You have red hair". "Wow, super creative Jace, what should I call you Goldilocks now because of yours?" "Okay, I won't call you Red then" and his face reddened . To my surprise, I laughed. My chest tightened. Why was I feeling this way? I couldn't get close to anyone, they don't need to be involved in my train wreck. I tried to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist. "Partners, remember"? He handed me his number, and I quickly took it, not wanting to talk to him for a minute more. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f6d0a8b9643a421170173179bd734054"J.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1c5a6fbad2c594727fb3c0d91ebcee2b"What did I say to Clary that made her so upset? I watched as she walked away unsure what to make of the situation. Aline headed over to me. "What was that about"? "Nothing you need to worry about" I replied. But she didn't look convinced. Here I was standing next to my girlfriend, and all I could think about was that girl with fiery red hair and bright green eyes. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="108304c02f06f84a66c9980cfbd92b1d"C.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c003ffcc94d607d2cb63091cab10a0b"I quickly walked to my next class, English. I sat down next to a guy with brown hair and glasses and a pretty girl with long black hair. I smiled at them and introduced myself. "Hi I'm Clary." "I'm Simon and this is Izzy" he replied. We talked for a while before the teacher came in and began his lesson. Despite my desperate need of wanting to distance myself with people, I felt these were the type of friends not to pry. finished his lesson and I walked out of the room when suddenly, a manicured hand spun me around. "So, new girl, where are you sitting at lunch?" Izzy said. I shrugged in response. "Well, guess you're sitting with me and Simon now" she said in a singsongy voice as she linked her arm in mine. I smiled back weakly and we continued to the far away cafeteria. After chatting with one another in lunch, I noticed Izzy with an annoyed expression on her face. I looked at who she was frowning at, and saw no one other, then Jace Wayland. He was having a little too much fun at his lunch table with his friends; they were throwing food and cursing at each other. "My brother can be so embarrassing sometimes" Izzy said shaking her head. I nearly spit out my water. "Your brother"? "Yeah do you know him"? He's in my chemistry class" I said. "Oh... Well anyway, there's a back to school party tonight, you in"? Izzy said excitedly. What the hell, why not I thought. I nodded my head and Izzy squealed in delight. "Awesome!" "You can come to my house to get ready"! "Okay, what time"? After lunch ended, I found myself looking forward to the party. When school concluded, I headed over to Izzy's house where I found her and Simon waiting for me. "Hey guys"! "Hey Clary, so did you bring a change of clothes for the party?" Izzy said. I shook my head. "Well, come on! You can borrow one of my dresses!" Dresses. I didn't want anyone to see the scars I had from my dad-no Valentine. Just because he was my biological father didn't mean he actually deserved the title. "Isn't it alright if I just wear a nice outfit and not a dress? I get a little cold". Isabelle nodded and pulled me upstairs to her room so we could look for an outfit. We finally agreed on a white lace shirt with ripped jeans and combat boots. She put my hair in a braid and did my makeup. I stood back admiring her work. I could barely recognize myself. "Thanks Iz" I said, smiling from ear to ear. I couldn't remember the last time I had smiled like that. "So, where is this party anyway?" "Jordan Kyle's house, he's on the football team with Jace." "Ready to go guys? You've taken like an hour to get ready" Simon shouted upstairs. "Coming" Izzy yelled back down. "So how long have you guys been dating?" I asked. Izzy's face turned bright red. "We're not.. um dating" she muttered. "Oh, well how long have you liked him for?" I said waggling my eyebrows. "Clary!" She fake pouted. "It's not like that"! "Whatever you say, Iz". We headed downstairs and got in her car. As soon as we stepped inside the house, I knew this party was going to be interesting. Loud music played and people were outside on the beach swimming. Simon and Isabelle disappeared somewhere, and I was left alone. I went and poured myself a cup of Sprite, before running into someone. I looked up and saw black eyes and white hair. "Sorry!" I squeaked. "It's alright" He smirked. "I'm Sebastian". "Clary" I replied. "Want to go somewhere quiet?" he asked. "Sure" I half-yelled because of the music. I don't know why I agreed to his request, but I was alone, with no one else talking to me. He pulled me outside to the beach and we started walking along the beach. We began to talk and I found out he was in my grade as well. "Clary, you look very pretty tonight" he said, smiling. "Thanks" I said blushing hard. Before I had a chance to say anything else, he crashed his lips on mine. I tried to push him away, but he had a firm grip on my shoulders. "Let go" I yelled. He shook his head, his eyes dancing with sick amusement. I cried out for Izzy and Simon, but nobody heard me. "Sebastian stop"! He pushed me down, but before anything else happened, Sebastian was pushed into the sea. Tears ran down my cheeks before glancing up and seeing who had saved me. It was Jace./p


	4. Chapter 4

C.P.O.V

As soon as I saw it was Jace, I bolted. Images flashed through my head of Valentine hitting me and holding me down. I stifled a sob. I marched through the house and the party and ran out. I'm just going to have to walk home. A car pulled up next to me but I ignored it and kept walking. "Clary!" a familiar voice called. It was Jace. He got out of his car and stopped me. "Just leave me alone!" "No!" he shouted back. "I'm driving you home whenever you like it or not." "Fine" I muttered. It had began to rain and I didn't want to get caught in a rainstorm without my jacket. I climbed in his car and turned toward the window, not wanting to show him how hard I had been crying. I started shivering and Jace handed me his jacket. I took it, and our fingertips brushed. I felt a shock, and I was sure Jace felt it too because of his startled expression. "Thanks" I mumbled. The rain ponded the windshield and it was hard to see beyond where the car's headlights reached. "I'm going to have to pull over." I nodded my head. We sat there in silence. I realized I finally figured out why I didn't like Jace. He looked exactly like Valentine. But, Valentine would not of gone out of his way to protect me and then drive me home. "Why" I asked. "Why what?" "Why did you help me?" "I was outside and I saw him kissing you. I realized that he was forcing himself on you and I went to help" "Thank you".

J.P.O.V

"Thank you". She actually sounded grateful and not angry. She turned to face me, and I saw tears streaming down her face. My hands moved on my own, and I was suddenly embracing her. "You're welcome" I said. She slowly moved her hands, and she was hugging me back. "Why were you outside" she said, but it sounded like a whisper because her face was buried in my chest. "Aline and I broke up" I blurted. "Not that it's important" I added. She slowly broke away from me. "The rain stopped". "Oh, yeah" I said, a little disappointed. Why would I be disappointed? I suddenly realized my face was bright red, and I turned away. I never got nervous around girls. What was happening to me? I started the car and drove her back to her house. When we were there, I opened the passenger car door and stood in front of her. "Good night" I whispered. My eyes went down to her hair, and then her outfit, taking her in. She looked beautiful tonight. I looked at her lips and then leaned in, but she was already walking away.

C.P.O.V

I shut the door behind me quickly and then sank to the floor. What was happening? Why was my heart pounding in my chest; almost as it was trying to escape? This was Jace we were talking about, the infamous, arrogant player. But in the car, I thought I had seen something different in him. He was kind. He saved me from Sebastian. But I still couldn't get over how similar Valentine and Jace are, at least physically. I was jolted from my confused thoughts when my mom walked in. "How was the party, honey?" She asked. "Great!" I replied, putting on the biggest smile I could muster. We talked for a while and then I went to bed. After brushing my teeth and putting my PJ's on, I checked my phone and saw I had a text.

"Hey, want to start working on the project tomorrow? I don't have practice, so I'm free!" -Jace

I quickly replied back, "Sure, sounds great." With my face growing increasingly hotter, I put my phone down and went to bed. That night I had dreams of a golden guardian angel who could save me from all my troubles.


	5. Chapter 5

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e6aa7c0a121adca7ed26d56e9dcddd17"J. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a43250723808acb8ecbee10e129308de"I woke up with a smile. Today was the day I would see Clary again. As soon as I had that though, I remembered what had happened last night. We had almost KISSED. This was going to be a little awkward, but I didn't think Clary was the type of person to make it even more so. I smiled at the thought of the short red head with the bright green eyes. Throwing on my usual outfit that consisted of black, I headed downstairs to eat breakfast. I saw Isabelle with a sad expression. "What's wrong, Iz"? "So you know Clary right? she asked not taking a breath in between words. "Well last night me and Simon went off and..." she started blushing."Spare me the details, Isabelle. What about Clary"? "Well I overheard Sebastian and his friends talking about her, and how he had tried to kiss her." I instantly became furious at the memory. "Yeah" I replied bluntly. "Is Clary alright"? She asked. "She's fine, I'm going over to her house soon so I'll tell her you said hi". Her face visibly brightened and she nodded. I quickly ate breakfast, careful to avoid Izzy's cooking, and rushed out the door. It was a beautiful fall morning, and I knew it was going to be a great day, especially with Clary./p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"C.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6d2acb714cfecd34acf1707d2afa5976"I woke up with a smile. Today was the day I would see Jace again. I hurried out of my bed, took a shower, and got dressed. I put on leggings, a comfortable shirt , and put my hair in a bun. After I was done getting ready, I had breakfast with Luke and my mom. They made sure I was going to be okay for the day, and left for my mom's art show. Yep. My mom was a big time painter, and our apartment consisted of her paintings and my sketches. I wasn't lucky enough to be blessed with her painting skills, but I was pretty good at drawing. I sat down for a minute, taking in the beauty of the day while sipping my coffee, which I described as being black as my soul. But then my eyes soon caught something. A letter, that was thrown in the garbage with my familiar neat handwriting. My heart started thumping as I reached for the letter and pulled it out of the trash. This was definitely Valentine's hand writing. I frantically ripped open the envelope but nothing was in it. A sudden realization hit me. My mom must be hiding this from me. I was yanked out of my thoughts when the doorbell rang. Surprised, I almost fell out of my chair. I went and opened the door, seeing Jace. He looked more handsome than he did yesterday, if that was possible. Black looked great on him. I realized I was staring. "Come on in" I said quietly. He smiled and walked in slowly, with his hands still resting on the door. "Is this yours"? he asked pointing to the painting. "No, I can't paint to save my life, I draw though" I said with a smile. He looked at my drawings and turned to me surprised. "These are amazing, Red". I blushed. "I though you weren't allowed to call me that, Goldilocks" I said, sticking my tongue out at him. He pushed me on my arm playfully. I flinched in pain. "What happened, are you alright"? "It's nothing don't worry about it"! Little did he know that Valentine had broke my arm before me and my mom left, and it never had healed properly although I was in a cast for a while. Jace still looked concerned, but he didn't have to know what the real reason was. "So, do you want to work on the project"? Jace nodded and we plopped down on the couch. We had gotten halfway through the project when Jace reached over and took my hair out of my bun. "Better?" I asked, as my hair cascaded around my face in waves. "Much" he replied, with his hands still in my hair. I moved away so his hands were no longer in my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hint of disappointment flash across his face. When we finished a project (which should of taken only an hour but took two due to Jace talking about his many accomplishments at football) we decided to go out for ice cream. We walked across the street to one of the best ice cream stores in the city. When we went in the store, a blast of cold air hit me and I instantly shivered. Jace, of course noticing this, offered his jacket (again). "Jace, I might need to keep this jacket since you keep on giving it to me" I joked. "Well, of course" he replied. "Anything for the beautiful Clary Fray". I stopped in my tracks and looked up at his face. He didn't seem to be joking. My face turned bright red to match my hair and my freckles lit up like stars on my face. Nobody had ever called me beautiful before, except my mom, which didn't count. "Thank you" I said. And I truly meant it. Here Jace was cheering me up. It was hard to believe I had disliked him so strongly the other day. We went up to the counter and the cashier said "What would you like"? "Mango ice cream, please" we said at the same time. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Match made in heaven". The cashier exclaimed. "We're uh, not together" I stuttered. "That's a shame " he said as he handed us the mango ice cream. We sat down in a booth and ate happily. I was enjoying my ice cream so much I didn't notice that some had gotten on my nose, which Jace pointed out. "You got some ice cream on your nose, Red". I grabbed a napkin and wiped where I though the ice cream was. "Nope" Jace chuckled. "Let me try". He grabbed a napkin and dabbed on the tip of my nose. My heart started beating frantically, while I stared into his golden eyes, which reminded me so much of a lion's. An idea suddenly popped in my head. "Jace, you have some on your nose too" I said grinning wickedly. "Where"? he said looking down. When he looked down, I used my spoon and quickly put ice cream on his face. "Clary-what"? He said surprised. I quickly sprinted out of the store, laughing so hard that strangers were looking at me. Jace came out with the remaining ice cream on his shirt. "Clary Fray, I am so getting you back for that". He ran over to me and swooped me up over his shoulder. "Jace put me down"! I yelled and laughed at the same time. "Never. I am never letting go of you, Red" he replied. I managed to slide down, but I still had my arms on his neck. Our foreheads were touching, and we were staring into each other eyes. Suddenly, a duck quaked and Jace jumped back. "Jesus" Jace muttered. "Are you scared of ducks, Wayland"? Jace shook his head, but then another duck appeared and he looked scared out of his mind. "Okay, let's go Clary" he said grabbing my hand. We walked back over to my apartment, and he didn't let go of my hand until we reached the door. I put the key into the lock and opened the door. I kicked my shoes off, and checked my voicemail to see if I had any messages from my mom. I had one from an unknown number, so I clicked on it. "Hello" a daunting voice said. "If you could call me back Clarissa, that would be great. I miss you very much and can't wait until I see you again". My face turned white, and before I knew it, I was falling to the floor, unconscious./p


	6. Chapter 6

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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5c4c0053fa9f9bf662e751062ffc65b0"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;""If you could call me back Clarissa, that would be great. I miss you greatly and can't wait until I see you again"./span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5acc01f477d2ef7047931a34f569805d"As soon as I heard that creepy message, I looked over to Clary, but when I did, her face was white and she was tipping over. I lunged and grabbed her shirt sleeve so she wouldn't fall and pulled her in close to me. She was already unconscious and I was so scared. So scared that she wouldn't be alright. I grabbed my cellphone, and headed out to my car, nearly sprinting with Clary in my arms. I had to drive her to the hospital NOW. I sped out of the parking lot, and continued on to the hospital. I was driving way too fast, but I didn't care. I pulled to a screeching stop into the parking lot, and ran, ran so fast to the front desk. "Can somebody please help me, she's unconscious" I yelled. Doctors swarmed me and took her out of my arms. "Her pulse is faint and she has a temperature of 102" one doctor said. I followed them but a doctor stopped me. "Family only" she said. You have got to be kidding me. I brought Clary here, I have the right to see her. I was so angry I could punch a wall, but I don't think they would appreciate it. "Fine. When can I see her though" I muttered angrily. "We will let you know as soon as you can" she smiled. But it wasn't a reassuring smile, it was forced,tight smile. That definitely made me feel better. I sat over in the waiting room, and breathed and exhaled. Here I was in the hospital and all I could think about what my life would be like without this short red head I had just met a week ago. /p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="deb2a03e6d30c2651d831d91d900ed15"All I could see was light. But then I was in my old bedroom, doing my homework. I heard an angry yell from the living room, demanding me to get him more beer. Of course my dad made me get it, because his feet were broken. I chuckled at the thought and got the beer from the fridge and handed it to my dad. He stared at me, his hair which was so blonde it looked white, and it was sticking up in random places. I began to hurry out, so I wouldn't bother him and then I heard a crash right next to my head and felt glass pierce my skin. My dad had thrown his beer at me. I started walking away slowly, not looking at him, because that was what he wanted. He wanted me to feel weak and worthless. Too bad, dad, I won't. He screamed my name and grabbed my arm, and somehow bent it in the most unnatural way it could. I tried to stop myself, but I cried out in pain. I still didn't look at him, but he grabbed my face and forced it up. I was staring my father in the eyes. "You're worthless, Clarissa." he said. "No, I'm not. I'm twice what you'll ever be" I snarled back. He pushed me away and hurled curse words at me that I will never repeat. I ran into my room, barricaded the door, and started crying silently so he wouldn't hear. My arm hurt so bad, but I also kept medical supplies in my room. My life was that pathetic. I put a sling on, and climbed in my bed and slept. In the middle of the night I woke up because of frantic knocking on my door. I was unsure, but I thought it might be my mom. I pushed my dresser out of the way and saw that it was, in fact, my mom. "Oh Clary" she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm getting you out of here, come on honey". I grabbed my bag I had packed for this special occasion, and hurried out of my room. "Mom, what if he finds us". "He won't, we're gonna disappear". I nodded my head and clasped my mom's hand. She had promised me we would be alright. But that voicemail. He had found us. I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. "What happened? Where am I" I cried, on the verge of tears. I saw I was in a hospital room, with several doctors. "You were hyperventilating so much you became unconscious, good thing your friend brought you here". Jace. I just remembered. Jace had brought me here. He probably though I was a freak, and that voicemail was just making me overreact. At that moment, my mom and Luke walked into the room. "Clary, are you alright"? Mom asked with a frantic look on her face. I nodded. Luke took my hand and said "glad you're alright". "Thanks Luke." The doctors began filtering out of the room, and then I spoke to my mom in a quiet voice. "Mom, I need to talk to you". She looked worried for a brief second, but then it went away as fast as it appeared. "That letter in the trash, who was it from"? "Oh, just a mix up. Wrong address." Why was she lying to me? "I know you're lying, it's from dad. She breathed out. "Yes it is, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, you just seemed so happy here". "He called the house phone, thats why I fainted" I explained. "He did? But Clary the doctors said your heart rate was dangerously low". I shrugged. I really didn't know the answer for that. At that moment, a certain blonde knocked on the door. We made eye contact, and I introduced him to my mom and Luke. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Fray and Mr. Garroway" Jace said, using his usual charm. "Can we have a minute alone, mom?" I asked. "Sure". They exited the room and when the door shut, Jace was hugging me. "I was so scared" he breathed into my hair. Of course at that moment, I realized my hair was a mess and I was wearing a hospital gown. Not the most flattering outfit. "Jace, I'm fine now" I laughed, but he still looked deathly serious. "I think I might not be allowed to drive for a while, I'm pretty sure I went 15 miles over the speed limit". I laughed, glad that he was here. For now, that was all that mattered. "Um, so you don't think I'm weird for fainting like that". He frowned. "Of course not. But what was that about"? "I'll have to tell you later". "Hm, another study date perhaps?" he asked. That was a date? I looked down at my hospital gown and sighed dramatically. "I guess." "But no ice cream this time". I giggled and held his was like his hand was my life line and I was holding on for dear life. He leaned forward and I froze, but he kissed my forehead, and his lips lingered for a moment. "Well, I gotta go now, my family is probably freaking out, text you tomorrow"? I nodded and he unclasped our hands. He walked toward the door and exited, but not before he smiled at me and made my heart beat faster once again. The heart monitor, which was not my best friend at the moment, showed an increase in heart rate with a loud beeping nose. I turned bright red, which of course was my specialty by now. He laughed and exited the room. My mom and Luke came in to announce they were getting their own cots so they could sleep with me tonight. I then pulled a blanket over my head, and fell into a deep sleep./p 


	7. Chapter 7

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"C.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="38ede5cbf47c693474c49ae860471604"I had been released from the hospital two days ago, and life could not be better and as confusing as it had been. Simon and Isabelle announced that they were dating, which resulted in hugs and then me being the third wheel at a movie. But still, I was happy for them. Jace and I had talked a couple times since then, although I felt like there was an awkwardness between us. My mom had failed to explain what those letters from Valentine were doing in the trash and why he had called us. He had obviously found us, but why wasn't he doing anything? My mom had gone to the police and filed a restraining order against him, but I doubt it would make him go away. For the last day, I had been drifting in and out of my memories of my "old life" and had been drawing much more than I used to. I wasn't depressed, I was just so angry, so upset, that he had found us. Would my mom make us move? Away from Luke? Away from Jace? I guessed Jace still wondered why I had fainted like that, but some secrets were better left untouched, even if it was Jace that I was telling them to. We had the 4 day weekend, and it was Monday, so I only had two days left until I had to go back to school. I drew almost everything I could see, and of course, watched Netflix. My mom and Luke had left almost an hour ago to go out to dinner, but I had politely declined when asked to go with them. I just felt like staying at home, eating my chips and ice cream while watching How I met your Mother. I had just finished my snacks, when the doorbell ran. I froze. What if it was him? I carefully and quietly walked up to the door and said "Who is it"? "Well" someone replied, "I'm the one who you had an ice cream fight with". Jace. I opened the door and looked up. "I mean, I've had a lot of ice cream fights with people, so..". Jace smiled and held up mango ice cream and a bunch of movies. "We haven't talked in while, so I thought we could hang". "Jace, we haven't talked in two days" I giggled. "Still, I missed you". "I missed you too" I said. I took the movies and examined them. "Avengers, not bad" I said. " Only if you want to watch it" he replied. "Are you kidding? I love Marvel". "Clary Fray, are you a comic nerd?" I put the movie in, and then of course realized what I looked like. "Hey, Jace"? "Yeah?" "Do you mind if I go take a shower, I haven't had a chance to look in the mirror all day". "Sure" he replied. "Not that it matters, you'll always look beautiful". I mumbled some incoherent sentence and walked into the bathroom. I took the quickest shower I would probably ever take in my life time, put on a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and brushed my hair. I eventually gave up, knowing that my hair would just have to stay a knotted mess from the rest of the night. I walked out and saw Jace sitting on the couch, looking at pictures of me before I moved. He pointed to a little me with pigtails, and an unsmiling man. "Is that your dad"? I nodded. My throat had suddenly become dry. "Where is he"? "I don't know, hopefully far away from here" I said, not meaning to let the last part slip out. Jace grabbed my hand. "Clary, was he the man on the voicemail"? "Jace I don't want to talk about this." I hadn't realized I was crying until I felt a tear fall on my hand. I was so stupid, so weak for crying in front of him. It felt like the hundredth time. I stood up quickly, attempting to free myself from his grip. I couldn't let him know, he would think of me differently, he would pity me. He would never look at me the same if he knew. I didn't know I had said that last part out loud until Jace spoke. "I would never, Clary". He stood up and put his arms around me, and in that moment I was in untouchable. Nothing could hurt me. "I would never" he repeated. He wiped my tears away and I sat down on the couch. I can trust him. I can trust him, I kept repeating to myself. "My father was an abusive, alcoholic man who is now trying to find us again". Jace's gold eyes flashed with anger, and I continued to tell him what had happened in my childhood. How I had moved from place to place after we left Valentine's home, how my mother and I were always scared, how I hadn't been able to trust anybody else with this secret. He reached his hand up to mine, and I clasped it tight. "You can trust me, Clary". "No kidding Goldilocks, I just told you this." I said. I saw something flash in his hand, and it was too late. Jace had covered my nose with mango ice cream, and I was laughing uncontrollably. I ran from the kitchen and grabbed the whipped cream and sprayed it at him. We had used up most of our desert, when I grabbed a napkin and yelled "Truce"! This time, Jace cupped my face with his hand, and there was no time to stop him. His lips met mine, and I was in heaven. He picked me up and carried me over to the couch and I didn't protest. Being with Jace felt right. This player I had met on the first day of school no longer existed but was instead replaced by a sweet guy. He ran his hands through my hair, and whispered "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you". We broke off the kiss, and our foreheads were still touching. We were gasping for air even though we hadn't been kissing for that long. I touched his face and stared into his eyes. "That was my first kiss, Jace" I breathed. "I know this is lame, but will you be my girlfriend, Clary"? I nodded. "As long as we keep the food fights to a minimum" I giggled. He grabbed a blanket, and pressed play on the movie. I was leaning on his shoulder, but I wasn't watching the movie, I was watching him. He was my guardian angel. I kissed his cheek and snuggled into his chest, safe from all the worries of the world./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f6d0a8b9643a421170173179bd734054"J.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="10c2ddd473b7a5413d30e312cb010766"Clary had kissed my cheek and not a minute later, fell asleep on my chest. She looked even more beautiful when she was sleeping. Her eyelids were fluttering with dreams, and her hand reached for mine, while she was sleeping. I held her hand and saw a smile light up her face. She had told me her secret, trusted me, and I knew I was in love with her. In little over a week, she had changed me. She had made me a happier person, a better person. Who knew someone that was little over five feet could make such a difference in my world. I paused the movie, laid Clary down on the couch, sleeping next to her, and holding her hand. I didn't care what her mom though, nothing mattered in this moment except me and her./p 


	8. Chapter 8

**C.P.O.V**

After the four day weekend had ended, I woke up every morning with a smile on my face. Me and Jace had only been dating for a week, but I felt so much happier. I felt like nothing could stop me, especially Valentine. Beep. Beep. Beep. But nope, my alarm clock could. I grumbled and attempted to find my alarm clock on my nightstand. Ugh. 10:30. Wayy too early for the weekend, but Jace wanted me to come to his football game at 1 and then go to the homecoming dance . I sat up with quickly and hit my head on the that wasn't the problem here. The dance was tonight and I didn't have anything to wear. I got up and searched for my phone in the covers and quickly dialed Isabelle. "Hey Clary" she said in a singsongy voice. "Hey, Iz. I have a fashion emergency-" but I didn't get to finish. She bombarded me with questions. "Do you not have any makeup? No shoes to go with your dress for tonight? Need a clutch"? I laughed, I should of known Izzy would do this. School had only started less than a month ago, but me, Izzy, and Simon were close friends. And, of course Jace, but he didn't want to acknowledge he actually liked Simon so he stuck to calling him names, but still, there was love behind those words. "I actually don't have a dress..." I said. I heard a startled gasp before she hung up the phone. Huh, okay. I got dressed and went to eat breakfast. Halfway through my bowl of Cocoa Puffs, somebody flung open the door, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out into the hall. And it was no one other than Isabelle. "But, Cocoa Puffs, Izzy" I pouted. She didn't respond but kept on pulling me toward my apartment exit and into her car. "If we leave now, we can go to the mall, get a dress, and then make it in time for the football game" she said excitedly. "I don't have any money to spend on a dress, Iz" I said. "Nonsense, I'll buy you one. Anything to see Jace and you happy." I smiled and hugged her, but at the same time I felt guilty, I couldn't make them pay for me all the time. I would get something from a cheap store, and that would be that. I also had to get a dress that covered my back all the way, but I don't think that would be a problem. In less than five minutes, we arrived at the mall, and we were practically running in. It was 11, so we only had an hour and a half to get a dress, and then I still had to get ready for the football game because currently I was wearing sweats and one of Jace's shirts. Isabelle pulled me into a top designer brand store and I gulped. "Iz, I don't want you to waste THIS much money on me" I said, gesturing around. She shook her head and went to talk to one of the employees. She was pointing at me and suddenly I was being scrutinized by the employee. "Red hair, green eyes, hm.." she said. I frantically looked at Izzy but she was nodding at the employee. Her name tag said Camille. Camille snapped her fingers and nodded. "Green dress to bring out her green eyes" she said. Isabelle and Camille began fetching dresses that were green, and also covered the back. Five minutes later I was standing in the dressing room wearing a strapless emerald green dress with detailed lace at the bottom. The dress totally complemented my eyes, and when I stepped out to show Isabelle and Camille they agreed as well. Approximately an hour and twenty nine minutes later, Isabelle and I were rushing out, holding the bag that contained my dress, a necklace, and a basic pair of black heels. We went back into my apartment and I got dressed and did my makeup so quickly, I was 50 percent sure I looked like a clown. I put on light jeans and a navy top with a necklace and headed out. It was 12:45 and we had 15 minutes to get to the school. Isabelle raced in the back roads, and sure enough, we were right on time. I was greeted with a hug from Simon and we went to stand closer to the football field. Jace was warming up with his team, but after Isabelle and Simon's persistent screaming, he jogged over to us. "Hey guys" he said. Then he looked at me, sending a shiver through me. "Clary" he said slowly. "Hey Jace" I breathed. He looked pretty hot in his football clothes. I soon realized I was staring and looked back up at him. He was laughing. I punched his arm playfully and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, Wayland". He laced his fingers with mine before jogging out into the field. I turned back to Izzy and Simon only to see them making gagging noise. "Hey, it's not like you guys are any better" I protested. "Touche, Fray" Simon said. I stuck my tongue out at him and we went to go sit on the bleachers. The game started out well. Jace was playing like one of the pros, and almost after every play he would find me in the crowd and smile at me. The game finally ended and the score was 47-0. The Alicante Shadowhunters had destroyed them, all with the help of Jace. We piled in the car and went to the Lightwood's to get ready. Izzy and I went up to her room and got ready, and Alec, Jace, and Simon went in Jace's room. Isabelle finished my makeup and hair, and even though she insisted I put it up, I left it down, knowing that Jace would pull it down the minute he saw it. We stepped out of her room making our way down to the kitchen carefully, not wanting to trip and fall in our heels. I went in the room where I saw Jace, Simon, and Alec in dress pants and a nice shirt. I saw Alec chatting with someone, and as soon as I went to ask Alec who it was, the boy turned around. He had black hair, and golden eyes, which looked like a cat's. "Hi, I'm Magnus, Alexander's boyfriend". I shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Clary". He touched my hair, exclaiming "Alexander, I wish I had hair like this." Alec smiled and I burst out laughing. I had no clue Alec was gay, but him and Magnus seemed happy together, and that was all that mattered. After speaking to Magnus and Alec, I went over to Jace. "Hey" I said quietly, looking him in his golden eyes. He looked up and down, taking me in. "You look beautiful, Clary." I smiled and he put his hands around my waist and brought me closer to him, so our foreheads were touching. "Thank you" I said before kissing him. It seemed like a year before we broke apart to a familiar voice. "No PDA guys"! "Save it for the bedroom"! Of course it was Simon. I walked over to him and poked him in the chest. "Save it, four eyes". "Okay, freckles" he responded. We laughed until Simon fell down, causing everyone to laugh. After taking countless pictures, we rode to the high school. I entered with Jace's hand in mine, and we continued to the dance floor. Jace and Isabelle had obviously took some dancing lessons, because compared to me and Simon they looked like they could be on Dancing with the Stars. Alec and Magnus were talking with other seniors. Simon and Izzy went to get food, and Jace went to go get us some punch. I was standing near the exit to the gym, playing with my necklace, when I felt two arms around my waist. "Hey beautiful". "S-Sebastian?" I asked, desperately trying to free myself from his grip. He practically carried me into the hallway, and pressed me up against the lockers. "I haven't stopped thinking about you" he said. "Sebastian, stop"! I screamed. He put his hand to my mouth while I was thrashing wildly. This can't be happening. Just like before, images of Valentine shot through my head at rocket speed. I was crying, begging for someone to help me. "Jace isn't going to help you again" he snarled. He started touching my hair, and I seized the opportunity. I bit down on his hand, and sprinted. I ran so fast and was almost to the exit when I bumped into someone. Jace. Thank god. "Clary! Clary whats wrong I've been looking for you every where". "Sebastian" I whispered. Jace looked furious, but before he could look for Sebastian, he appeared behind us. "Your dad says hi, Clary". And just like that, he disappeared. I started shaking and fell to the ground. Jace held me and I sobbed into his shirt. "J-Jace, h-he's back" I cried. "He's not going to get you, Clary, I promise. I swear on my life I will protect you". Jace handed me my phone and I quickly called my mom, filling her in on the new situation. "I'm going to the Police Station right now, I think it would be better if you stayed with the Lightwood's for now, I'll call Marsye". "Ok"I responded numbly. I'll be fine, I said to myself. Jace will protect me, Jace won't let anything happen to me. I looked up to find Jace staring down at me. "I guess I'm staying at your house for a while" I said. He hugged me, and said "Thank god, I won't be able to let you out of my sight". I kissed his cheek, and we went out to the dance floor. Halo by Beyonce was on, and me and Jace swayed to the music, my arms around his neck, and his on my waist. "I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, but thank you, you are truly my guardian angel". He leaned in, so his lips were touching my ear. "You're welcome, Red" he breathed sending shivers down my spine and through my body. The song ended and we met back up with Isabelle and Alec, who now understood what was happening. They didn't pity me at all, or saw me differently. These were my true friends, and I now knew that this secret was worth telling. We drove back to their house, and then I realized, I didn't have any clothes to change into. "Iz, I'm gonna need to borrow some of your clothes" I said sheepishly. "Sure" she said, handing me Pjs that were way too small. I smiled in gratitude, but was secretly wondering how I was going to fall asleep in these. Around 12 o clock, I wandered around, not sure where I was going. I opened a door only to find Jace on his computer. "Hey Jace". "Hey, Red, still up?". "Yeah, um, could I borrow some of your clothes, Izzy's are super uncomfortable". He handed me one of his shirts. "Turn around" I said. He put his hand to his chest in mock hurt, but finally did. I slipped into the soft material that smelled like him. He turned back around, only to look at me in disbelief. "What's wrong"? "How can you look more beautiful each time I look at you"? I blushed head to toe, and got into bed with him. "What are you doing, Clary"? "Well, I can't sleep in that bed, so..." I trailed off. "Fine by me" he said, before kissing me with so much passion that it left me speechless. He broke off the kiss, and turned the light and his computer off. I put my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around him. This was what bliss must feel like. Even though Valenitine was back, Jace would always be around to protect me. I was about to fall asleep, when I heard Jace whisper "I'm pretty sure somebody died in the guest room bed". I chuckled, kissed his forehead, and drifted into sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5bdb07f98435b7f42eac538970f91325"I woke up to rain pouring outside. So much for a white Christmas. I untangled myself from the sheets and tiptoed carefully out of the room trying not to wake Jace. Ever since Sebastian had told us about Valentine at homecoming, I had nightmares and slept with Jace. I constantly assured Izzy that we weren't having sex or anything, but she was still suspicious, along with her mom, Maryse. I went down the creaky stairs trying not to wake up the household. I walked into the family room where I saw the twinkling Christmas tree. My mind drifted off to two weekends ago. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="341f429c1a4ebce8c0d79e7f59652606"em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Come on Clary, you can reach higher than that". "Jace, if you haven't noticed I'm five two, and what are you, almost six feet? Why don't you do it yourself". His eyes glinted with something that I had come to recognize as mischief. I held my hands up in surrender as Jace quickly put me on his shoulders to put the star on the tree. I bent over, my hair making a curtain around us, and kissed him on the cheek. "This is going to be the best Christmas ever". I nodded in agreement, but as soon as I did, Jace tripped and landed on the tree Isabelle had bought. The tree was adorned with pink ribbons and me and Jace were covered in glitter. I started laughing uncontrollably. "We look like Magnus" Jace said./em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="44c0819d3cf93f3a5f8556230bb40e5a"Now, next to the bright family tree, stood Izzy's crooked one. I walked into the kitchen where Izzy and Simon were up making coffee. "Coffee, Fray"? Simon asked. "Yep, black like my soul". Simon rolled his eyes. "Why are you not at your house"? "I'm jewish, so I thought I would spend this Christmas with my amazing girlfriend". Izzy grinned and they kissed. Alec came into the room, where he saw them kissing. He coughed into his hand and they jumped apart. "People eat here guys" Alec groaned. Simon turned a bright shade of red but Izzy was unfazed. "Then we'll go somewhere else" she said, smirking. Alec just shook his head. "So how are you and Magnus" I said popping a strawberry in my mouth. "We're great, how about you and Jace" he said while winking. I ran my hands through my hair. "No Alec, don't wink, nothing has happened"! "You sure, because you sound awfully defensive". I groaned. Alec held up his hands, "It's Christmas so I'll leave you alone. But good luck on that big date tonight" he said waggling his eyebrows. I threw my strawberry at him, but he just caught it and exited the room. I grabbed my coffee and followed him into the living room, where everyone was gathered waiting to open presents. I saw Jace and shot him a smile. We had been dating for almost three months, so we were going out tonight to celebrate. We were also going to exchange gifts also. With the help of Isabelle and Maryse, I got him new football cleats and gear. I had been working at Starbucks, so I had saved up money for this occasion. Everyone exchanged presents. I got a new pair of boots from Izzy and Alec, a new set of art supplies from Luke and my mom, and a computer from Robert and Maryse. I hugged everyone and thanked the ones that were there, because unfortunately my mom and Luke were at Luke's lake house. After hours of watching Christmas movies, I went up to my room to get ready. I threw on ripped jeans, a white tee shirt with a crystal flower necklace, and a navy sweater. I also put on the new boots that Izzy and Alec had gotten me. I headed downstairs where I saw Jace in all black, which was not surprising. He offered me his arm and said "this way m'lady". I giggled. Jace and I had been watching way too many 18th century movies. We walked outside, where it had started to snow. "Maybe it will be a white Christmas after all" I exclaimed excitedly. All of a sudden, Jace kissed me on the lips. I pulled back, smiling. "What was that for"? "You're just so damn cute, Red". I rolled my eyes at the nickname. We finally arrived at Taki's. It was one of Jace's favorite restaurants in the city. Jace held the door open for me, and we walked in hand in hand. We were seated in a comfy booth, a little distant from the other tables. "I wanted to be able to hear you" Jace said before pressing his lips against my knuckles. The waiter came and served us water and bread. I ordered a salad and Jace ordered a steak. "So" Jace said, "could we exchange presents in my room later, after dinner?". I raised my eyebrows at him. Jace suddenly became panicked. "No,no,no, I didn't mean it like that" he said waving his arms around frantically. I slid into his side of the table and kissed him lightly on the lips. "What was that for"? "You're just so damn cute, Goldilocks". After we ate our entrees, we had desert. They served mango pie, which Jace and I were attacking each other over. "My piece!" I half screamed. Then started sword fighting, or spoon fighting, over the last piece. After that argument was settled, we drove back home. We went up to Jace's room, where we held our gifts in our hands. "Me first" I said holding my gift out to him. He shifted through the contents, with a grin on his face. "These are the most amazing cleats ever, holy shit" Jace breathed. "Hopefully they don't stink up your room like the other ones" I said waving the air around my nose. He stuck his tongue out at me. He handed his present to me and I opened it. It was a necklace, one that would rest right below my collarbones. It had a C initial charm and a green stone that matched my eyes. "Omigosh, thank you Jace"! I said nearly tackling him. I kissed him over and over on his forehead and his cheek before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Clary, I would do anything to make you happy" he said. "Jace, I have to tell you something". He nodded, confusion in his eyes. "I um, I love you" I mumbled. "I love you too" he said flashing me a quick grin. He took the necklace from my hands, and undid the necklace I had worn for dinner. He carefully lifted up my hair and clasped it around my neck. I didn't mean to, but I sucked in a quick breath of air when he touched my skin. I turned around quickly and kissed him with all of my love and feelings for him. He cupped my face and carried me to his bed, where he took off his shirt. I traced his stomach and face, kissing each part of him. "Have you ever done this before" I breathed shakely. He shook his head. "I wanted it to be with someone special" he said before taking off my sweater. Holy shit this was actually happening. Here I was laying in just my bra and jeans. I carefully undid the buttons to my jeans and put my hands around his neck. "I love you, and I will love you until the day I die and if there is life after that I will love you then too Clary Fray". /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2aab4a0dbc846a3094ab0a9f6a19621f"I woke up with the most happiness I've ever felt. It was the middle of the night and Jace was sleeping soundly. I was lying on his bare chest, where I whispered, "You have literally saved my life, Jace, you're my angel and my knight and everything amazing all rolled into one. I know you can't hear me because you're asleep but it has always felt right with you, ever since I met you. I love you". Suddenly I saw two tawny eyes gazing down at me. "I love you too, now go to back to bed sleepy head" Jace said. I reached for his hand and intertwined my fingers with his. "Good night" I said, pressing a kiss to his neck./p 


	10. Chapter 10

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="94943c01e7900c3bfd88f00dccf94f0f"It had been two months since I told Jace I loved him. Two months full of , here I was, in a truck with my hands bound together with a rope. But, let's rewind to twenty four hours ago./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bf659cf69307a3dd5d69c5341b2be620"I was moving back into my mom's apartment, because Valentine had not tried to contact us for a while. We hoped he was gone. It felt nice waking up in my own bed, but I missed the comfort of Jace's arms around me. It was a Tuesday, which meant I had school. I rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed for the day. I greeted my mom and Luke with a smile. Oh, I should probably mention something. Last week, Luke took my mom out to dinner and proposed to her. She said yes. Their wedding was in 5 months, and I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. I was excited that I would have a new dad, somebody who actually cared about me. Although, he technically would be my step dad, I was still happy to add him to our small family. I eat breakfast and took a couple sips of coffee, when I heard a car horn honk. I grabbed a coat for the brisk late February air, and headed out. Jace was in the driver's seat, and had saved the passengers' seat for me. Izzy and Simon were in the back, where Simon was talking about Star Wars. Isabelle just laughed and nodded, happy to talk about Simon's interests but also confused about what a Ewok was. I greeted Jace with a kiss and we were off to school. The day went by so slowly, since I only had AP Chem with Jace, and it was at the end of the day. Luckily, I had a couple of classes with Izzy and Simon. We all met at lunch, where Jace sat with us now. "Jace" I said as he sat down. He looked at me with a curious expression. "I remember in the beginning of the year when I saw you over at that lunch table, with your football friends". "I was such a tool, but thanks to you I'm a different person" he beamed. I kissed him, but he broke away. "I don't want to cause a scene like me and Aline did". I laughed. "How is she, anyway"? "I don't know, the only time I see her is when she tries to flirt with me". "Really"? I was surprised, I didn't know that was happening. I also didn't know why he didn't tell me but he must of thought it wasn't that big of a deal. I decided to push it away. I played with the necklace that he had given me, remembering that night. Lunch ended, and we made our way to the last class of the day, AP Chem. I plopped down next to Jace, and took out my notes. I looked around the room to find 's eyes on me. He had been staring at me like that since the first day of school. Weird. He got up when all of my classmates had entered the room, and began to drone on about various chemical bonds. The class went by slowly, but went a little faster than normal because Jace and I had been passing notes back and forth. I felt like a middle schooler. I exited the classroom, telling Jace I would meet him at my locker. I gathered my materials and went to my locker to put my books away. When I was walking up, I saw a blonde and black hair on two people, who were surprisingly very, very close together. To my horror, I saw it was Aline and Jace, kissing. I know what you're thinking, usual high school drama. But no, this didn't happen to me and Jace. I blinked away hot tears, turning away, not bothering to confront him because I was too upset. I desperately half-ran to Mr. Starkweather's room, because I had forgotten my notebook there. I heard Jace call my name behind me. I rushed on to the classroom, but I wasn't fast enough. Jace caught up to me and pushed me into the nearest empty classroom. "Jace, leave me alone"! Jace grabbed my hands and put them in his. "Aline kissed me, Clary. I would never do anything to hurt you". "Are you sure Jace, because you hadn't told me she had been flirting with you for months". "Do you really not trust me, or are you just looking for a way to end this?" Jace questioned. "Wh-Why would you ever say anything like that"? "After what happened with your dad, I know you don't want to be close to anyone, and I don't blame you. But I'm not going to hurt you Clary". "Jace, I got to go, okay. I left my notebook in 's classroom". "I'll come with you". I shook my head. "I need some time alone". Jace opened his mouth to talk, but shut it, knowing I was right. "I'll talk to you later" I muttered. He shook his head and I exited the vacant room. I knocked on the door, and heard "come in". "Sorry, I forgot my notebook in here" I explained. nodded his head, his eyes darting around. I picked up my notebook. "Is everything ok"? I asked. He shook his head quickly. Well, that's weird I thought. I was about to exit the room, where I felt a cloth over my mouth. "No" I mumbled as I faded into darkness. And here I was, many hours later, in a truck with my hands and feet bound with rope. I looked up and saw no one other than Valentine driving the car, and in the passenger seat. Valentine turned back, his white hair shining. "Hello, daughter" he said, smiling. Well this day sucks, I thought, as I passed out for a second time./p 


	11. Chapter 11

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f6d0a8b9643a421170173179bd734054"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"J.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="53f3fa38b75c837eefce68b3c69d71f9"Not much longer after Clary had left, I followed her. I wasn't going to let her go home upset, because I loved her with all my heart. Despite the situation, I laughed. I would definitely never had said that before I met her. I knocked on 's room, but nobody answered. I peered into the empty classroom to see Clary's binder with her name on. Fear hit me fast and hard. Where was she? I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. It rang for a couple of seconds, but then cut short, saying that this person could not be reached at the time. I then called her mom, desperate to hear Jocelyn say Clary was with her. She picked up on the second ring. "Hi Jace, how are you?" I quickly explained everything. Jocelyn was silently crying, and I could hear Luke in the background asking what was wrong. "I'll meet you at the police station". I heard her mutter "yes". I hung up and sprinted down the hall, and then outside to my car, where Alec and Isabelle were waiting. I jumped into the car where I urged them to go in. They both had confused looks on their faces, but then were replaced with anger and panic when I told them Clary was nowhere to be found. "So, her dad took her" Isabelle whispered. I nodded. We pulled into the police station at the same time Luke and Jocelyn did. I hugged Jocelyn and nodded at Luke and we continued into the building, where we would try everything to get Clary back./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1ded8798b23201d872fc16d4d9704af4"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"It was my 8th birthday party. Of course, I wasn't allowed to have friends over, so my mom and I just baked a cake and played games. This was our tradition on either one of our birthday's, although my mom was allowed to see people at work. We were playing Monopoly, even though I didn't exactly know how to play. I just rolled the dice and moved my token around the board, collecting money as I went. We were having fun, for the first time in months, we were both smiling. But, that ended as soon as we heard a truck pull up in the driveway. We cleaned up the board game and cake as quickly as we could, and sat on the ratty couch, our hands entwined. Valentine walked in, swaying a bit to the left when he walked. He handed me his beer can. "Happy birthday, Clarissa" he snarled. I didn't say anything, I just set the can down on the table after he had left. For the next five years, he had done the same thing. Showed up drunk, and give me some kind of inappropriate present. Not anymore. My mom and I had escaped. But now.. /emI woke up to my head hitting the seat. I was groggy, and it took me a second to take in my surroundings. I remembered where I was, and pretended to be asleep. I caught a bit of and Valentine's conversation. "I had to throw her phone out the window, somebody had tried calling her". I recognized this as Valentine's voice. "Who"? inquired. "Jace". "Oh, Clary is dating him, or so it seems." "They are" a third voice pipped in. Unable to hide my shock, I opened my eyes to find Sebastian, sitting way to close to me. I protested and attempted to get farther away from him, but he grabbed my hand, pressing a kiss to it. "Nice to see you again" he said. I turned my attention away from him, but to the man in the passenger seat. "Valentine, why are you doing this and where are you taking me" I said, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. "A place you and I both know and love. Also, Ive missed you, and since I'm probably now a wanted criminal in New York, I can't exactly show up to your door and ask to take you out to a reunion lunch." I glared at him. This man is the epitome of evil. I was so scared, but I wasn't going to let him know that. I just wanted to see Jace, my mom, Izzy, Simon, Luke, and Alec again. I would find a way out of here, even if it killed me. A plan began formulating in my mind."So, that place we both know and love, could that be our old house?" I questioned. "Smart girl" Valentine replied. gave him a look, probably because he knew well enough NOT to tell me his whole plan. He was also the brains of the operation, while Valentine and Sebastian were the brawn. I stared out the window, looking for a sign of where we were. Several hours later, we stopped at a gas station. Sebastian untied me and we entered the store. I went into the bathroom, while Sebastian stood watch. I went to the bathroom, washed my hands, and then put my game face on. I would distract Sebastian while getting the phone in his back pocket. I had seen him enter it several times in the car. It was 9-0-1-2. I faked sobbed, while walking out of the bathroom, which was enough to catch his attention. He pulled me into one of the aisles. "Whats wrong?" he asked, seeming concerned. "Before Valentine took me, I got into a huge fight with Jace, we broke up." "Why?" "Well, let's just say I loved someone else.." I said while putting my hand in his. I felt so disgusting doing this. Ugh. But it had to be done if I would ever get out of here. A sly smile appeared on his lips before leaning down. I kissed him, while slipping my hand into his pocket to get his phone. Unfortunately, I had my dad to thank for this skill. When Valentine passed out drunk, I would retrieve the TV remote from underneath him, without waking him up. Once I slipped his phone back into my pocket, I broke off the kiss. I walked away, giving him a wink as I turned the corner, only to sprint into the bathroom. and Valentine were out filling the truck with gas. I unlocked Sebastian's phone and called the only number I could remember, Jace's. "Hello?" I sobbed in relief to Jace's voice. "Jace, it's me. I don't have much time." "Clary?" "Yes, yes it's me. Valentine is taking me to our old house in Texas." Then I told him the license plate of the truck Valentine was driving. "Okay, I got it. I'm so sorry about what happened Clary, I love you, Red"? Our conversation was interrupted by the door knob jiggling, and Sebastian shouting. "Jace, I have to go, I love you too" I replied. Sebastian burst into the room and took the phone, while Jace was screaming frantically on the other line. "I trusted you" Sebastian said furiously. He hung up on Jace and dragged me outside into the car. Sebastian filled his "teammates" in on the situation, and then we were on the road again. Valentine was screaming at me, telling me how worthless I was. But that didn't matter, Jace would come through, like he always did./p 


	12. Chapter 12

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a3a632d10ab83e601201111fb5ea69e"After 1 hour of dear old dad yelling at me and cursing at Sebastian, we reached our "family" home in Texas. I was shoved in the dirty house, where trash was thrown everywhere. I knew I could hold out, because Jace and the others were coming with a whole squad of police. It would take a day and a half for them to get there, because we had an unfortunate head start on them. I also knew no police would help here because Valentine had influence over them. Yep, Valentine used to be the Texas Police Chief. No one in this town believed he could do no wrong. Which was well, true, for a period of time. 4 years after I had been born, Valentine had been shot in the line of action. He recovered, but now was forced to bring a cane with him almost everywhere, which was why he stayed on the couch all the time after the accident. He left the force for a year, only not to come back because his coworkers thought it was best. I think that was the factor that finally made him snap into a terrible person that was hiding inside of him. I was forced into my old room. "I kept everything the same from when you left" Valentine said. I gulped, and looked around, to confirm what he said was true. He exited the room, where Sebastian came to take his place. "Nice little stunt you pulled back there at the gas station" he said, grasping my wrist. I stared back at him, not willing to show the pain I was feeling. "Only makes me like you more" he whispered in my ear. I backed away from him, but the trash on the floor made me trip and fall. He inched forward. "Why are you like this" I snarled. "Well, unlike you, I don't have parents that love me." "Parent" I corrected. He rolled his eyes and slammed the door, but I could still see his feet outside the door. Great. I went through my drawers looking for clothes that I left behind. I grabbed a tee shirt and sweatpants and changed quickly. I walked around my room, taking in the sight I never thought I would see again. This could easily be a hotel room. There were no pictures, or any objects that suggested a non itinerant person could live here. I walked into my small closet, where I used to hide. From the outside, it looked like a normal closet, but on the inside it was my safe haven. It was where I would go after Valentine would yell or I had a terrible day at school. This is where all my personal things were stored, in a hidden shoebox. When my mom and I had left this god awful place, I had grabbed about a half of the things in there. I pulled out a soccer medal next to a picture of Valentine and I. He had his arm around me and he was smiling. This was before he had lost it. I set the medal and picture down, going through the rest of the remaining items. I found my teddy bear and my middle school graduation award. A tear slipped down my face, landing on the teddy bear's face. I often thought about how different my life could of been if I had a different dad. One that was nice, non-abusive, and happy. But today? Today it was hitting me the worst, like a tidal wave against an unstable house. I felt like I was about to break. Although, before I did, I thought of the good that had come out of my mom and I moving. My mom had met Luke, who was the opposite of Valentine, and she couldn't be happier. I had met Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus, friends who I learned to trust and who made me laugh. And then, Jace. Jace, who made me feel like I was the only one in the universe while I was in his arms. I got up, put the past in this shoebox away, and sat on my bed. Almost a minute later, a knock came on my door. I wiped my face, although it was already dry from the one tear I had cried. I opened the door, to find . "Hi, " I said while looking at the food he had in his hands. "Call me Hodge" he replied. He entered my room and closed the door. Hodge handed me the food in his hands, and I was happy to find a couple of sandwiches. He sat down on my bed, staring ay his hands. Throughout this whole trip, I still had one question to ask him. "Why?" Hodge looked up in surprise and then realized what I was asking, replied. "I was one of your father's coworkers on the force. He was my partner, and saved my life many times. I owe him a debt I couldn't even begin to explain. Lucian Garroway was also on the force." I looked up in the mention of Luke's name. "What?" "Lucian was on the force, but he moved to New York, and met your mother. He was also so naive and optimistic, such a fool." I glared at him. Luke was not a fool, nor was he naive. "Oh, don't worry, he's not in on our plan, he loves your mother and you too much". "You don't have to owe Valentine anything" I shot back. "That may be true, but if I don't listen to him, he will out me to my son." "Out you?" "He will tell the child I abandoned who I really am, and I don't want that." He saw my curious look. "Like I would tell you" he snorted, exiting the room. Sebastian came to stand in front of it, but not before he shot me a wink. I ate my sandwiches, and slowly, went to sleep. At 5:32 in the morning, I woke up to the sound of footsteps. I pulled the covers over my head, trying to breath less. What if somebody was breaking in? I heard my window creak open, a noise that couldn't be heard unless you were in my room. I saw a figure slowly drop down, and I started shaking from nerves. A head of blonde curls appeared. "Hey Red, miss me?"/p 


	13. Chapter 13

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"C.P.O.V/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d108dc1f84534b631d46a7cc3fa0bfae""Jace?" I gasped, in not only surprise but wonder. "We have to get you out of here." "Jace, I didn't expect you to come ALONE. Where are the police?" "We beat them here." "We?" "Your mom and Luke." "Jace, you have to get out of here, Valentine is insane and will-" our conversation was cut short by my door handle jiggling. I shot Jace a terrified look, but he was already quietly slipping underneath my bed. Valentine came in. "What are you doing up" Valentine demanded. "I was thirsty" I replied calmly. I realized this was the first time Jace was hearing him talk in-person. Valentine walked over to my bed. A bead of sweat rolled down my back. He leaned in, staring blankly at me with his almost black eyes. And with that, he walked away and out of my room. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Ok, let's get you out of here." I nodded in agreement, getting out of my bed as quietly as possible. I hugged Jace quickly, as if I was reassuring myself that he was actually here and this wasn't a dream. I was getting out of this house for the second time. And I wouldn't come back. Now with a fierce new feeling of determination, I carefully moved a stool to position myself so I could climb out of the window. I was climbing out when I heard the door knob move for the second time. I froze in fear. Sebastian was walking into the room, when Jace knocked him out with a simple punch. I widened my eyes in surprise. Jace shrugged. "I've been taking karate for a while." I decided I would ask about it later. I continued my way out of the room through the window when I felt someone grab my legs. It was Hodge. I fell to the ground with a shriek. Hodge pulled my hands behind my back and forced my chin up. I saw Valentine holding Jace, with a gun in his hand. I stifled a sob. "Don't hurt him." Valentine smirked. "I knew he" Valentine said while gesturing to Jace "would come sooner or later." "When I came in I heard him under the bed" he continued. How could he. I couldn't even hear Jace and I was right on top of him. Hodge forced me to stand up, but I fell down due to the sudden pain in my ankle. Although it seems like he had lost his empathy a long time ago, because he pulled me up again. I limped over to Jace and Valentine, with stars dancing in my eyes, threatening to engulf my vision. They forced Jace and I onto the floor where they tied ours hands and feet together. I attempted to find Jace in my mostly black vision, but Valentine separated us. "Pathetic little girl" he spat, raking his hands through his blonde hair. Hodge left the room, while Valentine stayed, rambling on about what he still had to teach me. "You can never disobey me. Us Morgensten's are the only 'true' humans left. We have to stick together." Wow. Valentine was definitely insane. "You're crazy." He swung his foot back, and kicked. Not hard. But I knew this was a warning shot. "Stop" Jace said. Valentine's eyes glinted and he strode over to where he had placed Jace. "No!" I screamed. "Don't hurt him." Valentine ignored me, and punched Jace in the face. "Boy" he said "don't you know how your parents died?" "They were killed in a car crash" he replied simply and matter of factly. "Wrong." "Right. I was in the car with them." "Do you actually remember that or is that what everyone else told you?" Valentine inquired. For a moment, Jace looked confused. "Who would tell me that if it wasn't true." "I don't know. Maybe the Texas Police at the time?" A look of anger and frustration passed his face. "Tell me what happened." Valentine wagged his finger in front of Jace's face. "You're not ready for it yet, son." "Stop calling me that" Jace demanded. Valentine shook his head, checked the rope around our hands, and left. When the door shut and I heard him walking away, I turned to Jace. "We have to get out of here." "I know Red, but how?" I looked around my room for anything that could possibly cut zip ties. Then I remembered something that could do exactly that. I scooted over to my closet, and I was lucky because the door was already open. I found the box I was looking for, and opened it by turning around and using my hands to flip it open. I found the scissors I had took from My 3rd grade classroom because Valentine wouldn't buy me scissors to work on arts and crafts. He even thought coloring books were outrageous. I cut my zip ties to my hands and then my feet. I walked over to Jace and did the same for him. I was surprised when he kissed me, first on my forehead and then on the lips. "I love you" he said simply, but it was so much more meaningful than anything else he could of said. He rubbed his wrists, where there were marks from trying to twist out of the restraints. Our foreheads touched. "Let's get out of here" Jace said. Almost a second after the words came out of his mouth, I heard a siren and the screech of a megaphone turning on. "This is the police, come out with your hands up, Valentine Morgensten, Hodge Starkweather, and Sebastian Verlac". Nobody moved. Then Valentine marched into our room, grabbed me and Jace, and pulled us into the main room of the small house. He had a gun, that was clear to the police. Jace and I glanced at each other, nodding. We both knew what to do. We had learned this at a seminar after Valentine had contacted us through Sebastian. Simultaneously, we elbowed Valentine in the stomach, and ran. I didn't look back, but I heard Valentine fall over. We ran to the front door, but not until I heard gunshots, and then felt one. Jace and I both fell to the ground, looking blankly at each other. I looked down and saw blood through my shirt. I then glanced over at Jace to find him with his eyes closed, and blood stains in his pant leg and his chest. That was the last thing I remembered before the police rushed through the entrance to the house and took all three of my captors before calling ambulances for Jace and I./p 


	14. Chapter 14

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="500d18030e7b40ae20988eaf83c8b5c2"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b60a27a0d4c3956b2164ee84ff694dda"I woke up terrified and confused. Where was I? What had happened? I heard beeping. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't; it felt like someone was holding them shut. I then opened my mouth, but only a rasping sound came out. But even then, somebody who must have been watching me grabbed my hand. "Oh Clary." A familiar voice said. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Mom. /emI held her hand as tightly as I could.I felt her tears fall on my hand. I wanted to tell her that I was fine, that I was okay. Then it hit me. Jace. What had happened to him? Then I remembered. Somebody had shot us. Valentine, Hodge, or Sebastian. I couldn't take it anymore. I forced my eyes open and looked up at my mom. She was crying. I squeezed her hand to try to give her reassurance, but it didn't work. Luke came into the room and hugged her. I glanced down at the second hospital gown I had worn this year. I pulled it up the gown where I saw stitches on my stomach. Only then did I release how much it hurt. "Jace." I said simply. My mom understood and put her hands to her mouth. "He's not good, honey." "What do you mean?" I asked, already feeling the tears dripping down my cheeks. "He just went into his second surgery. One of the bullets hit his leg and another one in his chest. It just missed his heart. He just went into his second surgery a couple of hours ago." "How long have I been out for?" "Two days." She answered, but I didn't hear her. I was too busy thinking about Jace. I had gotten him into this mess. I decided I could trust him, and I still could, but I never should of told him my secret. I loved him with all my heart; he was the best thing that ever happened to me. If he didn't wake up, or didn't make it through his surgery, I don't know what I would do. I would be a shell of the girl who had come to New York and mostly the distant girl in Texas. "I need to see him." My Mom and Luke exchanged looks. "I don't know if it's the best time right now, he won't be conscious. I shook my head. "I don't care, I have to see him." They nodded, understanding my desperation. I didn't even want to ask about Valentine and his 'gang', that would have to wait until I knew Jace was better. They came back about five minutes later with a doctor and a wheelchair. "You're too weak to stand." he explained. I climbed in the wheelchair, ignoring the pain in my stomach. I was pushed to a room down the hall, where I entered to find a very pale Jace. My mom, Luke, and the doctor left me alone to talk to him. I wheeled over to his bed, where there was numerous tubes in his body. I stifled a sob. This can't be happening, I repeated to myself in my head over and over. I carefully intertwined my fingers with his, trying not to put him in pain. He was in a similar gown to mine, except his had monkeys on it. "So" I started, talking to him even though he couldn't hear me. "I know you can't hear me, well, maybe you can, but anyway. From the day I first met you, I belonged to you completely. I will always belong to you. You can't give up, Jace. You have to fight. You always have, even if it is a pillow fight or a football match, you always fight." I inhaled and exhaled, attempting to calm myself. "I love you, so much. You always reminded me that I was not a broken object Valentine could play with, but a person. You-you made me believe that I wasn't broken. So please. Please come back to me. To your family. To your friends. We need you, Jace, more than you know. By the time I had finished I was full on sobbing. I took my hand out of his and combed through his knotty blonde hair. I kissed him on the cheek, before turning and wheeling out of the room. No, I wasn't leaving, I was just getting a pillow and blanket so I could stay here all night, and no person would make me leave. I was just about to open the door, when I heard a faint mumble. My head snapped back, and I frantically made my way over to his bed. Jace's eyes were closed, but his lips were moving. I went over to the nightstand where I got a glass of water. I carefully moved his head up, and put the glass to his lips. At first, he didn't move, but then began to slowly swallow the water. I smiled in excitement. He was up, and he was drinking. Then, Jace stopped drinking, and positioned his head so it was turned toward me. He steadily opened his eyes. "Clary?" he said. "Jace!" I exclaimed, carefully hugging him. "Are-are you alright?" He was so selfless, asking about me before he thought about himself. I nodded my head. "I'm fine. How do you feel?" "Like Regina George when she got hit by a bus." I laughed. "One of the reasons I love you." I said smiling. "I'm so glad you're alright, Clary. And, for the record, I will always belong to you too." "You heard that?" "Oh I heard it alright, it just felt like I was underwater when I did." he said with a weak laugh. I warily climbed up on his bed, placing myself so I was next to him, but not putting any weight on him. I kissed him on the cheek and then quickly on the lips. He smiled, and hugged me. "I would never leave you." he whispered in my ear, sending warmth throughout my body. I backed away, and stared into his eyes. His bright blue eyes. We were like that for seconds, maybe minutes, when there was a knock on the door. Not a second later, Maryse, Alec, Isabelle, and Simon entered the room. There was cheers, and everyone came over to hug us both. "I'm so glad you guys are okay." Alec said. "Thanks" I replied. Me, Izzy, and Simon hugged, all of us glad that everyone would be alright. After everyone coming in out of Jace's room, it was just us. "When we get home, we are so having a food fight." Jace said. "Well, for right now Im going to take a picture of you in that adorable monkey gown." He crossed his arms slowly, trying to gauge if it would hurt him. It did, and he quickly unfolded them. "It's going to be alright, Jace" I reassured him. "I guess no football for me. But as long as I have you I'll be fine." "I hope we don't go to prom together on crutches." I said. Jace raised his eyebrows. "You want to go to prom?" I shrugged. "As long as I have you, I'll be fine. Even if it means wearing high heels." And with that, we turned the lamp off, and pulled the blanket over us, holding each other's hand for reassurance that we were actually here, and it wasn't a dream. It was a dream, when I was with him. It always would be. /p 


	15. Chapter 15

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce8e18a16961606fa482c3c7d7039d87"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"C.P.O.V./span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2175c872a96763e81a16baaeed75d8a2"I got out of the hospital a week before Jace. It had definitely been a longer stay then the doctors had anticipated, but I wasn't doing well with my physical therapy. It still pained me to walk or move for a long time. After getting out, I had a half healed scar on my stomach, but a new attitude for life. I would have to live every day like it was my last day on Earth. I told Jace this when I visited him yesterday, before he got out of the hospital. He had smiled at me, and agreed. There was a myth that humans used to have four arms, four legs, two heads, etc., and then they were cut in half, forming two people. Jace was definitely my counterpart, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I know I was in my senior year of high school, and I was only 18, but I had a gut feeling that Jace and I would grow old together. We had already gone through so much, and we haven't even graduated yet. Tomorrow, we would both go back to school. Prom was just around the corner, and so was graduation. Jace, Izzy, Simon, and I had gotten into a local college, so we would still be close to each other and our family members but we could also pursue our dreams. I got out of bed and put on a bath robe. I cleaned up my room, which looked like a tornado had gone through it. When my stomach started to hurt, I laid down on the couch and started watching Netflix. My mom and Luke were out choosing their wedding cake and food. About an hour into my tv show marathon, I heard a knock on the door. I froze unintentionally, when I heard a familiar voice call out. "Don't worry, It's Jace. I relaxed and opened up the door. Jace was carrying a box, which contained one of my favorite foods of all time, pizza.I didn't see it yet but I knew the pizza would be amazing, and it smelled delicious. I clapped my hands together, laughing. "Thanks." I said kissing him on his cheek. He ran his hand through his golden hair as he sat down. "What's bothering you? How are you feeling?" Jace held up his hands. "Fine, I, uh just have something to ask you." "Ok?" I said, now nervous. He handed me the box of pizza. I opened them, to find the most amazing surprise ever. On the pizza, 'Prom?' was spelled with pepperonis. I was sure my mouth was hanging open, but when I looked over to Jace, he was kneeling on the ground. "One: Yes I will go to prom with you, you dork. Second: What are you doing on the ground?" Jace retrieved something from his back pocket, and opened it. "Don't worry, I'm not proposing." "Yet." he added, smirking. "I just wanted to give you this ring, as a promise ring, because I'm never going to leave you, Clary, I promise." I pressed my hand to my mouth. He stood up, and carefully slid the ring onto my ring finger. I hugged him. "I love you more everyday, Jace." I whispered. He pulled out of the hug and kissed me. We kissed for a few minutes, but then stopped. I leaned against Jace's chest as he turned on the news. The anchor was discussing Valentine, and Jace quickly changed the channel. I told him to change it back. I reassured him that I was fine with seeing this. They were talking about Hodge and Sebastian. "Surprisingly, these two are related. Hodge gave away a baby to an adoption agency 18 years ago, since he was apparently unable to care for him. More on this story later at 7." "That's what Hodge meant" I said, suddenly realizing something. Jace shot me a questioning look. "Hodge didn't want Sebastian to know that he was his father, and if he helped me escape, Valentine would of told Sebastian. Guess it's all out in the open now." I said, shrugging. "But, what about my parents, Clary? What happened to them?" I took his hand. "We'll find out, Jace, I promise." I reassured him while looking at my new ring. "I hope you're right." he said, putting an arm around my shoulder./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c2a87751b370a8306b11b387fc02a37b"-/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="19462920df59e6c0a0c9ff29e7cd62b9"It was the day of prom. I had just gotten dressed in a blue gown, which was had one strap covered in beads and designs. It had been a very generous present from Luke. I just finished putting on my makeup, when I heard the door open. "There's my gorgeous prom date." Jace said picking me up and twirling around. "Dress! Dress!" I exclaimed. He reluctantly put me down, and then looked up and down, taking me in. I walked over to him, and closed his slightly open mouth. "You look stunning." "You're not so bad yourself, Goldilocks." We had a couple minutes to ourselves before my mom swooped in and took a bunch of pictures. "Your first prom!" she said. I smiled at her, and then looked up Jace, smiling at him too. "That's such a cute picture!" She showed us the picture. I was looking up and smiling at Jace, and he was looking down at me, and smiling as well. "Shorty." Jace said, sticking his tongue out at me. I playfully punched his arm. "Thanks for taking these pictures." I said and then kissed her on the cheek. "Love you, and have a good night." "Thanks mom! Love you too!" We exited the apartment building where right on cue, Izzy, Simon, Magnus, and Alec pulled up. "Let's go to prom!" Izzy screamed. I laughed and climbed into the car. Izzy looked beautiful in a black dress, Simon looked handsome in a tux, Magnus looked glittery and sharp in a suit, and Alec looked happy just to be with Magnus. We continued onto prom. The theme was A Night in Paris, and it was beautiful. Soft, sparkling lights were everywhere. There was a mini Eiffel tower, and a fake love lock bridge were you could write you and your date's name on it. All of us hurried over to the love lock bridge. Jace and I put our names on one, and so did the rest of our friends. After that, we went over to chat with some friends. Then, we went to dance on the dance floor. All of the Lightwood's were showing off their dance moves, along with Magnus, while Simon and I were just swaying awkwardly. It was the same as Homecoming. But, it didn't matter, because we were having fun. A slow song came on and Jace took my hand. "I'm going to show you how to dance, and at the end of the night, you're going to be amazing." I nodded, and followed Jace in the dance. He spun me around, and put his hands around my waist, bringing us closer together. Our eyes met. "Clary Fray, I am going to marry you." "I'll make sure to plan on it." I replied, bringing my hands up to his face. We kissed for a brief moment. "Later" he said simply. "Later?" I said in a mock disgust. He laughed, and then pulled me back closer to him. We danced for a few more minutes, and time seemed to fly by. People were already leaving. We joined back up with our friends, and spent the night dancing, not a single care in the world. We reluctantly went back to the Lightwood's house, we didn't want to go to an afterparty. Maryse and Robert were asleep. I had never met Robert before, he was always away on business trips. Izzy had once explained that he didn't know his own children that well, and he still didn't accept Alec's sexuality. We sat down in our dresses, suits, and tuxes, and begin to play Cards Against Humanity while drinking beer. This was our interesting afterparty. I glanced around at my friends, each one of them laughing and having a great time. These were my best friends, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. /p 


End file.
